Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of commissioned hospice in-patient beds that are unavailable because of funding pressures and what can be done to get these beds back in use.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested is not centrally held, but on the wider issue raised, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps that the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of statutory funding for adult hospices and what steps she is taking to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the hospice sector.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested is not centrally held, but on the wider issue raised, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps that the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reduced availability of mixed age childminding provision on parents with more than one child.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Childminders are an essential part of the early education and childcare system, providing flexible, high-quality and affordable provision. The department is working with the sector to expand the number of childminders and make it easier to operate, including through increased funding rates and flexibilities to work, with more time working from non-domestic premises.
The department recognises concerns raised by the sector regarding wellbeing and we know there is still more to be done. We know that children thrive when they are cared for by confident, well-trained educators. This means attracting, training and keeping great staff, as well as making sure they are valued and supported throughout their careers, with more support from day one. The department has also introduced measures intended to support the childminding sector and increase childcare availability, including regulatory flexibilities and other reforms aimed at making childminding more attractive and sustainable.
Childminders can provide care for children over five years old, requiring registration on the General Childcare Register (GCR). For providers who are solely registered on the GCR, Ofsted inspections are a compliance check to make sure providers are meeting the ongoing requirements for registration. These inspections are unlike other Ofsted inspections, which focus on quality and standards of provision. Inspectors check at inspection that a provider complies with the requirements of registration.
The department sets the standards and statutory requirements that all early years providers in England must meet. Ofsted is an independent non-ministerial government department and holds responsibility for inspection and operational impact as the regulator for early years provision.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what provisions are in place to help ensure children who arrive by bus at school are able to arrive in time to benefit from free breakfast club provision.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils, including special schools and alternative provision. Over 2,700 schools are now delivering clubs, reaching around 680,000 children.
Schools and local authorities are working together to help pupils using home-to-school transport access free breakfast clubs.
Where transport timings prevent a pupil from attending, schools are encouraged to work with their local authority to find out if it is possible to adjust timings or find a suitable alternative arrangement.
Expert advisers are available to help schools build on existing childcare provision and use programme flexibilities so that pupils and families do not miss out.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that regulatory and inspection frameworks for early years settings do not disincentivise childminders from offering care to children of mixed ages within the setting.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Childminders are an essential part of the early education and childcare system, providing flexible, high-quality and affordable provision. The department is working with the sector to expand the number of childminders and make it easier to operate, including through increased funding rates and flexibilities to work, with more time working from non-domestic premises.
The department recognises concerns raised by the sector regarding wellbeing and we know there is still more to be done. We know that children thrive when they are cared for by confident, well-trained educators. This means attracting, training and keeping great staff, as well as making sure they are valued and supported throughout their careers, with more support from day one. The department has also introduced measures intended to support the childminding sector and increase childcare availability, including regulatory flexibilities and other reforms aimed at making childminding more attractive and sustainable.
Childminders can provide care for children over five years old, requiring registration on the General Childcare Register (GCR). For providers who are solely registered on the GCR, Ofsted inspections are a compliance check to make sure providers are meeting the ongoing requirements for registration. These inspections are unlike other Ofsted inspections, which focus on quality and standards of provision. Inspectors check at inspection that a provider complies with the requirements of registration.
The department sets the standards and statutory requirements that all early years providers in England must meet. Ofsted is an independent non-ministerial government department and holds responsibility for inspection and operational impact as the regulator for early years provision.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of current Ofsted inspection requirements and regulation on the retention of childminders offering mixed age care.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Childminders are an essential part of the early education and childcare system, providing flexible, high-quality and affordable provision. The department is working with the sector to expand the number of childminders and make it easier to operate, including through increased funding rates and flexibilities to work, with more time working from non-domestic premises.
The department recognises concerns raised by the sector regarding wellbeing and we know there is still more to be done. We know that children thrive when they are cared for by confident, well-trained educators. This means attracting, training and keeping great staff, as well as making sure they are valued and supported throughout their careers, with more support from day one. The department has also introduced measures intended to support the childminding sector and increase childcare availability, including regulatory flexibilities and other reforms aimed at making childminding more attractive and sustainable.
Childminders can provide care for children over five years old, requiring registration on the General Childcare Register (GCR). For providers who are solely registered on the GCR, Ofsted inspections are a compliance check to make sure providers are meeting the ongoing requirements for registration. These inspections are unlike other Ofsted inspections, which focus on quality and standards of provision. Inspectors check at inspection that a provider complies with the requirements of registration.
The department sets the standards and statutory requirements that all early years providers in England must meet. Ofsted is an independent non-ministerial government department and holds responsibility for inspection and operational impact as the regulator for early years provision.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve maternity and neonatal care at the Royal United Hospitals Bath.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust is working to the requirements of NHS England’s Maternity and Neonatal 10-Point Plan (10PP) and has undertaken a multidisciplinary baseline assessment confirming that core safety and governance arrangements are in place. An improvement plan is being developed to address the outstanding requirements of the 10PP.
The trust is also reviewing its maternity and neonatal services against the Thirlwall Inquiry findings. Seven early actions have been identified, with named leads, clear milestones, and established governance oversight. The trust board will review the local Thirlwall assurance position in December 2026, including any further action required.
In addition, the trust is strengthening the analysis of outcomes and experiences by ethnicity and deprivation, preparing to participate in NHS England’s Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme from January 2027, and working to implement the Maternal Care Bundle by March 2027.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what opportunities are provided by his Department in North East Somerset and Hanham to help attract investment in artificial intelligence industries.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Government is working closely with WECA to support the delivery of the West of England Growth Strategy, which sets out both key locations and target sectors, one of which is identified as digital and technology including AI, to attract investment and deliver economic growth. Measures to deliver on the strategy and increase attractiveness to investors of the West of England’s already vibrant economy include the recently announced Future Places Fund, to which Government has contributed £65m.
The Government's support for AI businesses is UK wide, and we are determined that the benefits of AI are felt in every part of the country. The Office for Investment’s Venture Capital Unit connects UK AI companies with international investors to help them scale. Through our Sovereign AI Fund, backed by £500 million, we invest directly in and support strategically important British AI companies, and Innovate UK's £130 million Growth Catalyst provides grants.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on extending gigabit capable broadband coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Around 88% of premises in North East Somerset and Hanham can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection (Ofcom Connected Nations, Spring 2026).
To extend this further, more than 1,130 premises in the constituency have been included in Project Gigabit cross-regional contracts being delivered by Openreach. Approximately 270 of these premises can now access a gigabit-capable connection, with further delivery continuing under the contracts up until 2030.
In addition, over 2,620 premises in the constituency have benefited from completed Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme projects, helping to extend gigabit-capable broadband coverage in harder-to-reach areas.
We are also continuously monitoring suppliers’ commercial rollout plans and data to identify areas that may be at risk of missing out on gigabit-capable broadband. Where such areas are identified and meet the relevant criteria, we work with suppliers to consider bringing premises into existing or future Project Gigabit contracts, helping to ensure as many premises as possible can benefit from gigabit-capable connectivity.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to extend the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 to cover pet sitters who care for animals in the owner's home and commercial dog walkers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Anyone responsible for an animal, including pet sitters and dog walkers, is required to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. The Act places a duty of care on those responsible for animals and provides authorities with powers to investigate and take action where welfare standards have not been met.
The Canine and Feline Sector Group (CFSG) has published guidance to assist commercial dog walkers in ensuring the welfare of animals in their care.